The
Mike Gundy era has produced
mixed results, no more so evident
than in last year's sputtered
flow that showcased one of the
nation's best offenses, and
it constantly bailed out the
overmatched defense. The 7-6
encore result reflects the dichotomy
Gundy has to address this off-season,
for in the Big 12, the appalling
pass defense Oklahoma State
displayed in '07 would again
cost him any chance to compete
for the South Division title.
The Cowboys were actually in
position to win the division
entering their in-state rivalry
regular season closer, but 487
yards of Sooner offense quelled
that miracle. You can see that
within all of this, there are
signs that 2008 has potential
for great things to happen if
certain factors can come together.

There
are no worries that the 'Zac
Attack' will unleash pain on
opponents. The best QB currently
playing that you've never heard
of, Zac Robinson uses feigns,
fakes and fancy footwork to
stay away from harm and shred
defenders as a dual-threat QB
with no weakness. Robinson led
the nation's most balanced offense,
one that turns over both its
top runner and snarler (two
of the top four WRs left) but
has talent position candidates
waiting for their turns. It
will all work since (arguably)
five returning starters man
the line. Gundy has set up a
complicated chain of command
(see OFFENSE section). It looks
like a bureaucratic problem
waiting to happen, but seeing
how OSU is the only member of
the 200-200 club for the past
two years, it's obvious - Gundy
knows offense and doesn't need
us questioning his ways.

We
will question whether two new
assistants to the defensive
staff will change things. If
the spring scrimmage results
- against this stellar offense
- reveal anything, it's that
the new faces (of both players
and coaches) are the catalyst
for soon-to-be-seen improvements.
The DBs stay the same, so corners
coach Jason Jones is the one
name making a difference so
far. The other difference will
be everyone having spent more
time in coordinator Tim Beckman's
extensive system. It seems like
the line should be able to find
more pressure after only earning
22 sacks last year. A solid,
consistent pass rush would snowball
into less time to throw and
therefore better coverage results.
Until the corners can be left
alone in one-on-one, this formula
will be the best they can do
to stem the loaded offenses
OSU is sure to face. The LB
turnover may be a blessing in
disguise since Lavine and Sexton
are really bulked up DBs and
can do better than their predecessors
when "spread" out
by creative offensive formations.
Applying this logic across the
board, the new blood (six JUCO
products offer immediate, seasoned
help) should purge last year's
embarrassments; the potential
is there for this to be a good
D, if not a great one. But one
step at a time...holding foes
to under 30 is that first goal
which will produce more wins.

Traveling
to Washington State is one early
measurement, but the revenge
game with Troy will be the barometer
of whether this bigtime program
can beat the upstarts they couldn't
just a year ago. The Houston
game is a trap game this same
way, for if they look past the
Cougars, the same thing that
happened in last year Troy will
happen, but this time at home.
Away games at Mizzu, Austin
and Lubbock will test the secondary's
progress, with the Tigers and
Longhorns possessing multi-dimensional
attacks (like State's) that
will push every fiber of their
being if they want the win(s).
After beating the Sooners to
upset their BCS dreams (in 2001)
a few years back, it's now been
five years since State has taken
the rivalry game. As many know,
winning that one big season-ending
tilt can wipe many woes away.
Regardless, Gundy has built
this program from the ground
up in his way. Guys like Trooper
Taylor and others will continue
to make the recruiting classes
strong enough so OSU can compete
with its Big 12 brethren. Les
Miles never won two consecutive
bowl games here like Gundy currently
has. Go Gundy.

Out
of the 10 teams that had at least
200 yards per game both rushing and
passing, the Cowboys were by far the
most balanced of them all. Their magic
number was 3,161 - that's how many
total yards each offensive dimension
earned. The same essential OL and
QB are back, so the stacked personnel
at the other talent positions will
now get their collective chance to
keep State amongst the nation's elite
production machines. It was the second
best offense in school history (1988's
515 yards per game is the top), and
the team's top offensive performance
ever by an individual.

QUARTERBACK
That individual who has taken Stillwater
by storm would be junior Zac Robinson,
whose 3,671 total yards featured 847
net rushing yards and only nine sacks
and nine interceptions. Decision-making
is evidently one of his strong points
- he only lost 56 yards in his 473
total touches last year. In the conference
with names like McCoy, Bradford, Reesing
and Daniel grabbing the QB headlines,
Robinson will continue to fly under
the national radar, leading his team
to more points/wins as foes don't
figure out who brought the pain until
Robinson and his offense are done
inflicting their damages. Behind Robinson,
the name of Alex Cate seems to be
used most often. Not a lock, this
pro-style sophomore from Salt Lake
City knows Coach Gundy's system better
than 24-year old freshman Brandon
Weeden. A capital prospect, Weeden
was a basketball (Backyard League)
and baseball (N.Y. Yankee draft choice)
wanna-be before returning to the gridiron
last year (redshirted). Weeden and
Cate pushing each other can only help,
so whichever emerges as Robinson's
backup will have to know how much
the offense will change if/when they
are inserted...quite a bit since neither
has the feet and approach of the starter
from Littleton (CO). Robinson's ground
dimension is a huge reason why the
rest of the running game will continue
to work so well.

RUNNING
BACK
The main recipient this year will
be true soph Kendall Hunter. A projected
redshirt, Kendall wound up third on
the team in rushing and T-6th in receptions
with his speedy, direct style. "Spud"
has to hold off Beau Johnson's charge.
Johnson was Butler C.C.'s main weapon
as they won the national title, earning
MVP honors with his 288-yard, four-TD
showing. "I've been very impressed
with (Beau) Johnson and his ability
to understand our offense with poise,"
Gundy said. "He's got a very
good temperament for the game and
for what's going on. He sees defenses."
Hunter and Johnson both have the soft
hands this offense needs. Keith Toston,
now back from a knee injury in '07
after a strong freshman showing, probably
plays a utility role after seeing
how he fit in this spring. Expect
no steps back for the Cowboy's ground
attack since local Bryant Ward is
now Mr. Plow.

RECEIVER
/ TIGHT END
Robinson will find most of his primary
targets have moved on, but establishing
new favorites won't be hard to do
with so many capable sets of hands
vying for catches. Dez Bryant will
be in the front of that line - last
year's No.9 WR prospect (Rivals) finished
third in team receptions to earn (true)
Freshman All-American honors. His
size makes him an every-down guy for
the blocking he provides. Junior Jeremy
Broadway started in front of Bryant
for most of 2007, but legal troubles
have his status as second team. Broadway's
speed and experience mean he will
be a regular by fall, once again.
6'5 Damien Davis has surprising power
for his lanky look, but his ability
to catch most anything thrown his
way will translate into big numbers
in his first year as a starter. DeMarcus
Conner looks like that possession
guy for underneath. Bo Bowling received
praise this spring after tweaking
his shoulder but still coming out
and battling tough in that week's
scrimmage. The latest Woods here on
campus - Artrell from Bryan (TX) -
is amongst the fastest receivers.
OSU never seems to be at a loss for
capable receivers. Another leader
who will bridge the receivers and
linemen with his strong example everywhere
is Brandon Pettigrew. An All-Big 12
selection at tight end, Pettigrew
arguably won the Texas Tech and Kansas
State games with his fourth quarter
TD grabs in both. Frosh Wilson Youman
is a step slower and a size down from
Pettigrew, but he has proven valuable
coming off the line and will be a
part of the production. How hot prospects
Mosely, Horton and/or Bassett fit(s)
in has yet to be seen.

OFFENSIVE
LINE
The line had troubles this spring,
which says to us that the mix of first
and second teamers - the normal scrimmage
mode - isn't nearly as good as just
the first team. Injuries cannot be
anticipated, but more will be needed
from the reserves if the season-ending
variety occurs in front of them. The
hardest guy to replace would be Russell
Okung. By holding Indiana's Greg Middleton
- the NCAA sack leader - to no tackles
in OSU's 49-33 Insight Bowl win, Okung
earned All-Bowl status from Rivals
and proved why he has 21 consecutive
starts since his true freshman season.
The opposite side saw Brady Bond join
Okung in starting every game of '07;
Bond has transitioned from eight-man
football nicely, he is just as responsible
as his classmate for the team's meager
11 sacks allowed. JUCO product Steve
Denning was a mild surprise after
filling in so well when Andrew Lewis
moved over to center. Lewis is still
listed at center, but David Washington,
who Lewis replaced after Washington
broke his leg against Troy, was back
at 100% this spring to supply needed
depth. Washington likely takes back
over by late summer, so Lewis is expandable
back to his left guard spot that has
been handed to Mike Booker. The backups
are a mix of the veterans we've mentioned
and some hungry youth. The statements
made concerning the mediocre mix-and-match
OL results from practices may have
some worried, but enough experience
from a pretty superior offensive showing
will be back so that many things would
have to go wrong for this not to again
be one of the nation's best lines.

Moreover,
the complicated system here now has
multiple coordinators, with super-recruiter
Trooper Taylor joining the staff to
help replace Larry Fedora (now head
coach at Southern Miss). The coordinator-by-committee
will be spearheaded by passing-game
coordinator Doug Meacham, running-game
coordinator Joe Wickline, co-coordinators
Turner and incumbent Gunter Brewer
overseeing it all, and Gundy doing
the play calling. The steady improvements
seen in Gundy's first three years
give promise that this complicated
approach can work under his guidance.

QB
Zac Robinson

OKLAHOMA
STATE 2008 DEPTH CHARTReturning Starters/Key
Players

OFFENSE

QB

Zac
Robinson-Jr (6-3, 205)

Alex
Cate-So (6-1, 195)
Brandon Weeden-Fr (6-4, 220)

FB

Bryant
Ward-So (5-11, 215)

John
Toben-So (6-1, 235)

RB

Kendall
Hunter-So (5-8, 190)

Keith
Toston-Jr (6-1, 210)
Beau Johnson-Jr (5-10, 210)

WR

Dez
Bryant-So (6-2, 210)

Jeremy
Broadway-Jr (6-0, 195)

WR

Damian
Davis-So (6-5, 180)

Josh
Cooper-Fr (5-11, 190)
Artrell Woods-So (6-1, 200)

WR

DeMarcus
Conner-Jr (6-1, 200)

Hubert
Anyiam-Fr (6-0, 185)
Bo Bowling-Jr (5-9, 190)

TE

Brandon
Pettigrew-Sr (6-6, 260)

Wilson
Youman-Fr (6-4, 245)

OT

Russell
Okung-Jr (6-5, 300)

Trent
Perkins-So (6-5, 300)

OG

Michael
Booker-So (6-3, 210)

Jonathan
Rush-Fr (6-5, 300)

C

Andrew
Lewis-Jr (6-5, 290)

David
Washington-Sr (6-3, 305)

OG

Steve
Denning-Sr (6-5, 295)

Noah
Franklin-Jr (6-5, 310)

OT

Brady
Bond-Jr (6-6, 290)

Andrew
Mitchell-Jr (6-5, 305)

K

Dan
Bailey-So (6-0, 205)

..

2008
DEFENSE

Unfortunately,
it is clear that the first year of
Tim Beckman's reign was an unmitigated
failure. When eight foes go over the
30-point barrier - and five of the
last six games are the contests in
which this occurred - the Cowboy D
has little to hang their hats on.
Anything even related to momentum
seems vacant for the start of 2008.
The run defense wasn't too bad, but
the front seven is gutted and has
only two seniors returning. To boot,
the part of the D that gave up 80
more yards per game from the prior
season - the secondary - sees all
of its starters return. Not even Charlie
Brown has ever had a situation with
this much stacked against him like
Beckman has. Changes come in the form
of two new assistants to bolster Beckman's
plans - Glenn Spencer comes in from
Duke to head the line, and 33-year
old hot-shot Jason Jones is the ex-Alabama
safety in charge of the corners. Also
fresh on the Stillwater scene will
be six new JUCO prospects to give
an immediate on-the-field jump-start
to the sagging stoppers. Five of them
showed up for spring.

DEFENSIVE
LINE
DE Derek Burton is a legacy (father
played on the OL for three OSU bowl
squads) who has improved his numbers
annually (two starts last year). Ugo
Chinasa runs a 4.6-second 40, and
his limited showings give promise
that the starters are solid. Backup
Richetti Jones promises his No.5 ranking
(incoming DE prospects 2007, Rivals)
will pay off in a reserve role, and
classmate Jamie Blatnick also hopes
to make his mark. Jeremiah Price will
be the junior college guy for this
unit, but he doesn't have a spot...yet.
This is possibly the best unit on
the D, deep and talented with quickness
for their size (only Jones is a true
rush end). Jeray Chatham, who also
has some nice footwork for an ex-OG,
leads the tackles. Quencey Patrick
also has quickness, but both of the
starters hovering around 280 pounds
is an iffy proposition for Big 12
run stopping. Tonga Tea is that big
body who can take up two OLmen, but
he needs to step it up after a pretty
bland effort last year (even though
he had three starting calls to prove
more.) A guy who did make the most
of his few chances (of his four tackles,
two were for loss) was bulked up ex-DE
Shane Jarka. Chris Donaldson is the
JUCO tackle who will have three years
left and could be a starter if the
hype pans out. Ahmed Jones has yet
to see the field, so his potential,
like the entire tackle group's, offers
a wide range of possible results.
All signs point to a line that can
find more than 22 sacks (the '07 total)
and keep foes under four yards per
carry (4.2 ypc last year). The reason
no one knows how good the line will
be is due to a linebacking corps that
also is missing half of its two-deep
from a season ago.

LINEBACKER
Can the LBs help their forward brethren
if it's needed? SLB Andre Sexton is
excited about what's happened over
the off-season. "I thought the
defense improved alot this spring.
Everybody finally understands (Beckman's
system); we have alot of athletic
linebackers." In Stillwater,
SLB often means "star" linebacker,
a hybrid SS-LB role that perfectly
fits Sexton's safety past. This Houston
native started in the more forward
STAR slot for five games to earn 27
of his 67 tackles there. Needless
to say, Sexton's speed means great
coverage of extra WRs. Junior Patrick
Lavine is also strong in coverage
for the same reason. Lavine was a
Freshman All-American, and then he
was the No.22 Big 12 tackler as a
soph. Ex-RB Orie Lemon was tearing
it up at MLB to lock himself into
that spot this spring. NJCAA All-American
Donald Booker is also more of a pure
LB. The reserves look like a nice
mix of size for stopping (Seb Clements)
and speed for extra coverage (ex-DB
Deron Fontenot), but they do not go
very deep and are a noted drop off
in quality from the starters, not
to mention the drop off from the second
to the third team.

DEFENSIVE
BACK
It's make or break for the secondary
- a unit entirely composed of upperclassmen
has no excuse if they can't get it
done this time (after finishing 112th
in pass defense.) Jacob Lacey's make-or-break
style fits well with the approach
assistant Jason Jones teaches. Parrish
Cox has speed but seems to lack the
hard nose needed for open field bruising.
Like Cox, Anderson is a size-technique
type more than a (pure) speed merchant,
and his praises were hailed as his
playing time increased last year.
Anderson could overtake either starter.
So could Maurice Gray, the El Dorado
C.C. transfer who is already kicking
up some dust in the coverage schemes.
The talent is in place for good, tight
coverage, so consistency has to be
the main focus. An extra off-season
of learning his (new) safety spot
(moves to strong safety) for ex-WR
Ricky Price will pay dividends. He's
already the third leading Cowboy tackler,
so improvements mean he is the top
tackler by season's end. Quinton Moore
is another burner who can really cover
well, which was the main reason he
started as a nickel back and why he
now gets the nod at FS instead of
Price. Bell is just as fast as Moore,
and prospects Johnson and Markelle
(early enrollment) should make it
so any lack of performance equals
another youngster getting some reps.
Only 11 teams allowed more TD passes
last year than State's 27; in this
bionic QB conference, only by bringing
this number down can the DBs help
the teams' overall quality. Really,
the numbers for the entire defense
have to come down if OSU expects to
increase its win total.

CB
Jacob Lacey

OKLAHOMA
STATE 2008 DEPTH CHARTReturning Starters/Key
Players

DEFENSE

DE

Ugo
Chinasa-So (6-6, 250)

Richetti
Jones-Fr (6-4, 240)

DT

Jeray
Chatham-Sr (6-3, 280)

Tonga
Tea-Jr (6-0, 300)

DT

Quencey
Patrick-So (6-3, 275)

Shane
Jarka-So (6-4, 270)

DE

Derek
Burton-Jr (6-5, 265)

Jamie
Blatnick-Fr (6-3, 255)

SLB

Andre
Sexton-Jr (6-1, 210)

Deron
Fontenot-Fr (5-10, 200)

MLB

Orie
Lemon-Jr (6-1, 240)

Donald
Booker-Jr (6-0, 225) (JUCO)

WLB

Patrick
Lavine-Jr (6-3, 225)

Seb
Clements-Sr (6-1, 225)

CB

Perrish
Cox-Jr (6-1, 190)

Terrance
Anderson-Jr (6-0, 180)
Maurice Gray-Jr (5-9, 180)

CB

Jacob
Lacey-Sr (5-11, 175)

Al'Darius
Thompson-Jr (5-11, 180)

SS

Ricky
Price-Sr (6-1, 195)

T.J.
Bell-Sr (6-0, 195)

FS

Quinton
Moore-Sr (5-11, 185)

Lucien
Antoine-Jr (6-1, 205)

P

Matt
Fodge-Sr (6-1, 195)

..

2008
SPECIAL TEAMS

Perrish
Cox was amongst the top 10 in career PR
average for active players last year (12.10).
Cox had a return TD of each type, proving
his runback abilities make him a true weapon
who can change a game's complexion by himself.
If Matt Fodge supplies the 27th-ranked punting
effort like he just did, the coverage unit
has to rank higher than 68th for net results
for any tough field position battles to
be won. Quinn Sharp comes in as this year's
top kicking prospect; he will push Dan Bailey
after Bailey failed to connect form beyond
the 30-yard line in his brief '07 showing.
The Cowboys need a leg that can deliver,
not a work-in-progress who might cost against
the top enemies.